cost an arm and a leg

🌎Region: International 📊Difficulty Level:intermediate

💡Meaning

To be extremely expensive; to cost far more than expected or seems reasonable.

🕰️Origin

A mid-20th-century American expression meaning a price so high it feels like sacrificing body parts; popularized in postwar slang and later common in general English.

📝Notes

Informal, often humorous or complaining exaggeration to stress something is overpriced. Common in speech; can imply sticker shock or frustration.

💬Examples

That concert ticket cost an arm and a leg, but it was worth it.
Our new sofa cost an arm and a leg, so we’re taking good care of it.
Buying a house in this neighborhood costs an arm and a leg these days.
The repair shop wanted an arm and a leg to fix my laptop.
Her wedding dress cost an arm and a leg, but she absolutely loved it.

📘Grammar & Usage Notes

Usually used as “(it) costs an arm and a leg” or “cost me an arm and a leg.” Verb inflects (cost/costs/costing). Articles/plural are fixed: “an arm and a leg.”

🔗Synonyms

be pricey
be expensive
cost a fortune
cost the earth
set someone back

↔️Antonyms

cost next to nothing
be dirt cheap
be inexpensive